A plant stand in tiger maple, bloodwood and wenge, by Tom Whalley. / Special to the Register

A model Hummer S.U.V. in cherry and maple, by Francis Youngblut. / Special to the Register

More

ADVERTISEMENT

Sometimes inspiration strikes in ordinary ways.

Tom Whalley was absentmindedly playing with a business card when he punctured it with a pencil. He noticed how the paper curved up around the hole and — eureka! — decided to re-create that form in wood. Days and weeks later, his wife now has a new plant stand with a houseplant sprouting through its wooden top.

Whalley is the president of the Des Moines Woodworkers Association, and the plant stand will be on display in the club’s “Artistry in Wood” show next weekend at The Woodsmith Store in Clive. The biennial event showcases whatever the club’s members have been working on over the last couple of years — furniture, hand-turned bowls, model toys and more.

“It’s handwork. It’s not all computerized. So it’s sort of another realm,” member Ron Stookey said. “You just look at it and think, ‘How did they ever do that?’ ”

The club has more than 400 members from 70-some Iowa towns. A hundred of them usually show up to the meetings each month from September through May to swap ideas and learn new techniques.

But next weekend’s show is a chance to show off. They’re allowed to bring as many items as they want, including prize-winning pieces from the state fair and other juried exhibitions.

Visitors can vote for their favorites, but only members’ votes count for the Bill Hopkins Best of Show Award — “the Bill” — named for one of the club’s longtime members.